Mahatma Gandhi
my freedom fighter
Lindsey Anderson First Hour A Fight for Freedom in India
Mahatma Gandhi
• Oct. 2, 1869 • Porbandar, India • Gandhi was one of the foremost spiritual and political leaders of the 1900's. He helped free India from British control by a unique method of nonviolent resistance and is honored by the people of India as the father of their nation. Gandhi was slight in build but had limitless physical and moral strength. He was assassinated by an Indian who resented his program of tolerance for all creeds and religions.
Mahatma Gandhi
Reasons he fought for freedom…
• Guided by a search for truth through tolerance and concern for others • Wanted to free India from British control • Fought against English bills that would make it unlawful to organize opposition to the government
Gandhi’s Signature
Mahatma Gandhi
Strategies they used to fight for freedom…
• Taught others to master their fears • Used only nonviolent methods • developed a method of direct social action, based upon principles of courage, nonviolence, and truth, which he called Satyagraha. In this method, the way people behave is more important than what they achieve.
Mahatma Gandhi
The effect they had on American History and Culture…
• Influenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas of nonviolence • Advanced political freedom and prepared Indians for self-government spreading the ideas of democracy around the world. • He taught that the way people behave is more important than what they achieve.
Mahatma Gandhi
The end of the story…
On Jan. 13, 1948, at the age of 78, Gandhi began his last fast. His purpose was to end the bloodshed among Hindu, Muslim, and other groups. On January 18, their leaders pledged to stop fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days later, in New Delhi, while on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was assassinated. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic who opposed Gandhi's program of tolerance for all creeds and religions, shot him three times. A shocked India and a saddened world mourned Gandhi's death. The great scientist Albert Einstein said of Gandhi: "Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood."